Around the end of the last century, I decided to go with the "use one brand" videocassette rule, because, so some say, mixing different brands + different tape lubricants = mucked up heads. Never had a head problem ever since.

I'm now putting my toe in the HD world with a HV30 due to arrive on my doorstep within a few days.

I'm planning on sticking with the one brand rule, so I've done some searching in this and a couple other forums. As a result, I now have a mucked up head on my shoulders.

Some say brand ___ (fill in any name) tape has dropouts, others say that same brand is flawless; some say use only the hi def tapes that go for about $10, others say basic tape that goes for about $2 works just fine, etc. etc.

These posts were usually part of a thread not specifically about tape or this camera, so I still don't have a good feel for what tape I should stock up on for the inbound HV30.

i have used the panasonic ay-dvm63mq until it was discontinued and then replaced by the ay-dvm63amq which i now use and have never experienced and dropouts etc and that includes using the canon hv20 jvc gy-hd100 canon xh-a1 canon xl-2 sony pd 170 and panasonic dvx100b a lot of different cameras one tape and great results

I also use the Panasonic tape and have no complaints.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1691/minidvtapeey3.jpg

I have been using Panasonic PQ tape for years, and never had a problem.

A good place to buy it is B&H. They have - hard to believe - the best price, better than all those tape resources. At least when I bought mine.

I just wonder: there was this rule " only use one brand of tape".

Is it still recommended to do that, or do all tape producers now use very similar chemicals to make their tape glide better?

Thanks all for the input so far. Sounds like Panasonic HDV tape works well with this cam, so I'll order a batch.

I have plenty of Sony premium miniDV tape on hand for the VX2100's. This is the tape that's not specifically labeled for high definition, so now I'm just wondering if this standard def tape would be okay to use with the HV30 until I get hold of some Panasonic HDV tape?

Tom - The Sony tapes use a wet lubricant so it wouldn't be a good idea to use them if you plan to use the Panasonic tapes which have a dry lubricant. Here's more info on the AMQ tapes (http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=72193).

I use the same tape as I have always used with my Sony PD cam's...

the tape is Sony DVCAM style and the model number is PDVM-40N..

never had any issues in the years I have used them and I cant
stand the standard tape case everyone else uses...

The DVCAM tapes come with a bullet proof case....

I'm using Pana PQ series tapes.

Canon recommends using only Panasonic tape. I have used Sony's wet-lube tapes in the past and have had nothing but problems with them. I now use Panasonic PQ tapes in both of my XL2s and my HV20 and have only had one drop-out on one tape that had maybe 6 passes on it (I don't normally do this nor do I recommend it). So my personal pref. is Panasonic. Sean is right, the best place to buy these tapes is on B&H, I just found this out recently and was rather surprised.

http://www.pro-tape.com/Site/PRO-TAPE.html

FWIW, I use Sony and have had zero problems.

Nice review article, but they did mention that: "... and coincidentally, repair facilities tell me they have more issues with Sony tape than any other. A quick cost comparison will reveal the cost of a Panasonic consumer tape is well below that of a Sony and for about the same price as Sony consumer you can get Panasonic Pro;" which seem to indicate that Panasonic is a safe bet.

http://www.pro-tape.com/Site/PRO-TAPE.html

FWIW, I use Sony and have had zero problems.